openECSC

The European Cybersecurity Challenge (ECSC) stands as a collaborative effort between the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) and multiple European nations. Its primary goal is to foster cybersecurity talent across the continent while forging connections between promising individuals and industry leaders.

Each year, thousands of aspiring talents from diverse European regions participate in national selection competitions. Their ultimate aim is to represent their respective nations at the prestigious ECSC Grand Finals. However, this event accommodates only a limited number of participants due to stringent age and nationality criteria. Consequently, many contestants miss out on the opportunity to showcase their skills at the international level.

To address this disparity and broaden participation, the openECSC has been introduced since 2022. Unlike ECSC, which is restricted to individuals aged 25 and under, the "open" designation of this program signals inclusivity. It welcomes participation from individuals of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities, effectively inviting cybersecurity enthusiasts worldwide to engage, demonstrate their skills, and join the ECSC community.

The 2024 edition of openECSC will feature a total of four rounds, with the first three being approximately one week long, while the last one, the “Final Round” lasts 24 hours. See the schedule section for more details.

The goal behind openECSC is to accommodate both not very experienced players and top level ones. Expect challenges with a wide range of difficulty levels.

The average difficulty level of the challenges among different rounds will generally increase. Every round could feature easy to hard challenges, but on average, expect Round 1 to be the easiest and the Final Round to be the most challenging.